Adventure Comics #332
Adventure Comics #332
Cover Credits
Penciller: Curt Swan
Inker: George Klein

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Title: "The Super-Moby Dick of Space"
Pages: 17

Feature(s):
Legion of Super-Heroes (of Earth-1)

Writer: Edmond Hamilton
Penciller: John Forte
Inker: George Klein

Reprinted In:
100-Page Super Spectacular DC-21 (1973)
Best of DC #64 (1985)
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 4 HC (1994)
Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 2 TPB (2008)
Legion of Super-Heroes:The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2018)

Feature Character(s)

Villain(s)

  • The Super-Moby Dick (a space-beast; no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

  • Dr. Lanphier, another unnamed doctor, four unnamed soldiers of fortune, a televisor newsman, a group of freightship crewmen, and mineral people of Thanar asteroid (no further appearances)
  • Space Patrol officers and an energy-beast (in flashback to Ultra Boy's origin; no further appearances)

Comments:
Part 2: "The Cosmic Quest of Lightning Lad"

Following this story, Jimmy Olsen visits the Legion briefly in the second story of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #85.

Synopsis:
A colossal whale-like space-beast attacks an ore-bearing freightship. Lightning Lad answers the ship's distress call and tracks the beast to a nearby asteroid. When he uses his lightning power, however, it reflects off the monster's hide and returns tinged with poison, striking his right arm. The beast flees, and Lightning Lad passes out.

Waking up in a hospital room to find that a surgeon, Dr. Lanphier, has replaced his poisoned arm with a robot limb to save his life, a bitter, brooding Lightning Lad vows to hunt the creature down and kill it.

Superboy, Ultra Boy, and other Legionnaires attempt to capture the so-called "Super-Moby Dick of Space", but fail. Now fully recovered, but obsessed with the Super-Moby Dick, Lightning Lad takes charge of a team of Legionnaires, including Dr. Lanphier as an authority on space creatures, to track down the monster.

After two fruitless encounters with the Super-Moby Dick, Lightning Lad leaves the others to meet the beast alone on the World of Dead Robots. There, with a device Dr. Lanphier had attached to his robot arm, he uses his lightning to reduce the Super-Moby Dick to its normal tiny size.

As the others arrive, he tells them that Dr. Lanphier had scientifically increased the creature's size some time earlier. Lightning Lad, now over his hatred, absolves the doctor of all blame for his condition, and is left with the hope of having a living right arm again someday.


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